Novarama

Novarama Technology
Video game developer
Industry Video game industry
Founded 2003
Headquarters Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Key people
 Daniel Sánchez-Crespo
Alberto Díaz
Juan Luis Abadía
Marc de Miquel
Rubén López
Products Video games
Website http://www.novarama.com/

Novarama Technology is a Spanish video game developer based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is a First Party External Developer for Sony Computer Entertainment, and notable for its Invizimals video game series.

History

The studio was founded in July 2003 with the mission statement of creating innovative games with mass appeal. The studio began developing PC games, releasing Fallen Lords: Condemnation on Christmas 2005 through a local publisher. Moving into the console space, Novarama began developing Wild Summer for the PC and Xbox 360. The game was cancelled due to a publisher restructuring. Surviving the crisis with just a small core team, Novarama released Music Monstars for the Nintendo DS (known as Monster Band in the USA[1]) in Christmas 2008, a music title for young gamers.

Novarama's most well known project is the augmented reality based Invizimals franchise, produced by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, where players need to hunt for invisible monsters around the house with the aid of a PSP and a camera,[2] which makes them visible. The game was announced at E3 2009, showing the first game trailer and a playable demo.[3] Invizimals was released November 2009 across PAL territories, receiving generally positive reviews that highlighted the innovative gameplay and technology,[4] and becoming one of the Best-Selling PSP games of the Christmas 2009 season across Europe. Invizimals has spawned a sequel, Invizimals: Shadow Zone, released 2010, as well as several product lines including toys and collectible stickers.

A second sequel to Invizimals, entitled Invizimals: The Lost Tribes was announced in June 2011 for a Fall release. This announcement coincided on the same day as Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced their exclusivity agreement to all of Novarama's games in the future.[5]

After Invizimals: The Lost Tribes, Novarama developed Reality Fighters, a PS Vita launch title. Reality Fighters is an augmented reality fighting game backed by a powerful character editor. By taking a photo of the player, the game is able to reconstruct himself as a 3D character, who can then be dressed up in millions of costume combinations. Reality Fighters was released for the PlayStation Vita on the systems launch date, February 22, 2012.

On January 23, 2013 the studio released the Invizimals: Hidden Challenges Trading Card App. The free download available on PS Vita, PSP, iOS, and Android was developed in conjunction with Panini, who will release over 470 physical cards in Portugal, and Spain. The application allows players to track their physical card collection, play a virtual version of the TCG, and view the monsters in augmented reality.[6]

Shortly after, the studio confirmed that a traditional Invizimals sequel was in development for Vita, with a planned launched in late 2013.[7] The new title has been described as being more ambitious than previous releases, and is expected to tie in with the upcoming Invizimals animated series from BRB International.[8]

Games

Game Title Release Date Platform(s)
Fallen Lords: Condemnation 2005 PC
Music Monstars / Monster Band 2008 Nintendo DS
Invizimals 2009 PlayStation Portable
Invizimals: Shadow Zone 2010 PlayStation Portable
Invizimals: The Lost Tribes 2011 PlayStation Portable
Reality Fighters 2012 PlayStation Vita
Invizimals: Hidden Challenges Trading Card App 2013 PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Portable, iOS, Android
Invizimals: The Alliance 2013 PlayStation Vita
Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom 2013 PlayStation 3
Invizimals: The Resistance 2014 PlayStation Vita

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Monster Band on Metacritic
  2. ↑ Preview at IGN
  3. ↑ Invizimals E3 2009 Trailer at Gametrailers
  4. ↑ Invizimals on Metacritic
  5. ↑ "PlayStation nabs another exclusive developer". CVG. Retrieved 2011-06-29.
  6. ↑ "Invizimals: Hidden Challenges - New interactive collectible card game". PlayStation.
  7. ↑ "Invizimals: Hidden Challenges Interview". 3D Juegos. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
  8. ↑ Padovano, Joanna. "BRB Unveils New Series Based on Video Game". WorldScreen.
  9. 1 2 3 "IGN: Best of E3 2009. Playstation Portable". IGN.
  10. ↑ "Web Premis Ciutat Barcelona". Ajuntament de Barcelona.
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